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The Hep Cat (1942 short)
The Hep Cat is a 1942 Warner Bros. cartoon directed by Bob Clampett, written by Warren Foster, animated primarily by Robert McKimson, and set to a musical score composed by Carl Stalling. This cartoon is notable as the first color Looney Tunes short, but was re-released in the "Blue Ribbon Classics" series on November 12, 1949 as a Merrie Melodie. The end card also labels the short as a Merrie Melodies short subject. Because the original Looney Tunes titles are lost, the DVD bearing this cartoon features the "Blue Ribbon" titles. Synopsis The Hep Cat opens with a cat strolling through an abandoned lot. Unfortunately, he stumbles across a dog named Rosebud"—otherwise known by fans as Willoughby the Dog—who, upon noticing the cat, gives chase. The cat, after a successful escape, begins singing "Java Jive." Later, the cat encounters an attractive female cat, and attempts to woo her, failing utterly. Suddenly, Rosebud the dog reappears and the chase resumes. After a series of zany, Clampett-esque sight gags, the cat once again evades the dog. As the cartoon closes, the cat can be seen kissing his dream girl—a puppet. Plot Title alterations When Cartoon Network aired this short on The Bob Clampett Show, the titles were replaced with title cards of a colorized Porky Pig Looney Tune, with "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" as the opening music. The Looney Tunes title card cuts to the Blue Ribbon title card with "Merrily We Roll Along" as title music. The Looney Tunes drum with Porky Pig saying "That's all Folks!" also closes the cartoon. This was done to identify the short as a Looney Tune, since the Blue Ribbon titles miscredited the short as a Merrie Melodie. The opening title cards are not correct, since the 1942-43 season was the first in which Looney Tunes cartoons opened with the "bulls-eye" titles, usually with thicker rings. Since the original titles are lost, the restored version on DVD and Blu-ray use the Blue Ribbon titles instead of the original titles. Availability *DVD - Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2, Disc 4 *Blu-ray, DVD - Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 3, Disc 1 Gallery Trivia Cultural references *When the cat claims to be a "gorgeous hunk of man" his face turns into a caricature of Victor Mature. As the cat feels Willoughby's hand beside the puppet he's kissing he exclaims: "Ah, something new has been added!". At the end of the cartoon the cat says: "Well, I can dream, can't I?" Both quotes were used often in Looney Tunes cartoons of this era (like for instance Plane Daffy) and are both catch phrases by Jerry Colonna. "Ah, something new has been added" was a slogan for Old Gold (cigarette). External Links Category:Looney Tunes Category:Looney Tunes shorts Category:Merrie Melodies shorts Category:Merrie Melodies Category:Blue Ribbon Category:Blue Ribbon shorts Category:One-shot shorts Category:One-shots Category:One-shot films Category:Directed by Bob Clampett Category:Story by Warren Foster Category:Written by Warren Foster Category:Animation by Robert McKimson Category:Animated by Robert McKimson Category:Music by Carl Stalling Category:Musical Direction by Carl Stalling Category:Musical Direction by Carl W. Stalling Category:1942 films Category:1942 Category:1942 shorts Category:1940s shorts Category:1940s films Category:1940s Category:Warner Bros. Cartoons Category:Warner Bros. Animation Category:Leon Schlesinger Studios Category:Leon Schlesinger Productions Category:Produced by Leon Schlesinger Category:Shorts Category:Animated shorts Category:Warner Bros. shorts Category:Films Category:Vitaphone short films